Help me brainstorm some flexible income ideas...

[fett527]

Absolutely. Just not terribly so.

(actually what I probably need most is to keep my sense of humor through this so you're probably doing more than you think.)

don't we all? I was able to get my big downswing in career decision making before we had kids. I took a pay cut to get into IT, but it turned around quickly. I know this is a little different, but both are stressful situations.

 

[Rel]

There's an online magazine called Work at Home Moms. Their website might have some good ideas for you.

http://www.wahm.com/

You might also want to post your question on their message board.

http://www.wahm.com/forum/

I know you, reveal. And I know that you are just oozing with mirth at the prospect of me getting help from the "Work at Home Moms" site. But I thank you anyway.

Just before typing this I got called to do a job tomorrow afternoon that should supply half to two-thirds of the quota I like to bill each week. So that's a good thing!

I appreciate all the helpful tips. Keep em' comin'!

 

[reveal]

I know you, reveal. And I know that you are just oozing with mirth at the prospect of me getting help from the "Work at Home Moms" site. But I thank you anyway.

Just before typing this I got called to do a job tomorrow afternoon that should supply half to two-thirds of the quota I like to bill each week. So that's a good thing!

I appreciate all the helpful tips. Keep em' comin'!

Great news.

I'm serious about the WAHM site. Don't post on the message board if you wish, but do look through the opportunities for some kind of work. I doubt the jobs are geared exclusively towards women.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Interesting. Does anybody know anybody who has actually done this? KC, did your friend make much money at this?

Yes, she did. I'd be very leery of anyone who tried to get you to pay to join up, though. Secret Shoppers typically work for a company that contracts out to big corporations to have people visit their businesses and buy stuff. Anything from clothes to food to you name it. I have no hard info on this, however, and I don't have a way of contacting her since she moved.

 

[Dimwhit]

Speaking of which, if anybody here has a library of home videos that they'd like converted to DVD, I'm your man!

This sounds like your idea right there. I've actually been wanting to set up a side business doing this myself. Either with home video or old photos/slides. You can offer video-to-DVD transfer services, editing (cutting out unneeded video), etc. I want to do that, as well as scanning old photos to slides, creating DVD slideshows, etc.

Not sure how you'd market it, but if you can get a few clients, word of mouth could help quite a bit.

 

[Rel]

This sounds like your idea right there. I've actually been wanting to set up a side business doing this myself. Either with home video or old photos/slides. You can offer video-to-DVD transfer services, editing (cutting out unneeded video), etc. I want to do that, as well as scanning old photos to slides, creating DVD slideshows, etc.

Not sure how you'd market it, but if you can get a few clients, word of mouth could help quite a bit.

Have you looked into any of the editing software? I'm curious if you've found anything that seemed cost effective.

 

[Dimwhit]

Have you looked into any of the editing software? I'm curious if you've found anything that seemed cost effective.

Well, it probably doesn't help you, but iMovie is great for it, and it's free. If you purchase a new Mac. I can do it all, and have it look very nice, and I didn't have to buy anything. Final Cut Express is a good, $200-ish program that's a step up from iMovie. I *think* it's available for Windows, but I'm not sure.

Not much help on the Windows software front, though. Sorry.

 

[devilbat]

I think Manwhore is a great idea. If that doesn't workout, how about making picture collages on video for funerals.

When my grandma died, my aunt hired a guy to take old pictures, scan them, and make a video presentation, with a musical background.

I have to admit, it was nice seeing so many pictures of my grandma, with various members of the family. It lasted the length of "Wind beneath my wings". My dad approached the guy afterwords, and started talking a little shop. Turns out the guys is so busy, he had to quit his full time job to deal with all the referral business. He's the only guy in town that does this sort of work, and is currently far busier then he thought possible.

 

[Fenris]

I'm set up to do video reproduction but I have not advertised heavily. Perhaps I need to step that up a bit. Speaking of which, if anybody here has a library of home videos that they'd like converted to DVD, I'm your man!

So what's the "secret shopper" deal? Is that like going to do errands for people?

I don't suppose you could handle 8mm? My wife's family has lots of old 8mm film that we need to get converted.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Have you looked into any of the editing software? I'm curious if you've found anything that seemed cost effective.

Aren't you already set up with editing software? If you can swing Adobe Premiere, it's pretty cool. I'm a little out of the loop on the cheaper editing systems, but most anything could probably do the job.